Tau Crisis Battlesuit Tactics

Okay, folks, today we will be discussing the elite of possibly the best ranged army in the game, the Tau Empire Crisis Battlesuits. In every Tau tournament army I have seen, it has included at least 2 squads of these guys, though I would suggest possibly 3, if you have the points. We all know that the average player will give his squads some Drones, and then the plasma rifle missile pod combo, but these are just two of the options that you can take. Let's look at weapons first. The oft-overlooked Fusion gun is cheap, but effective. The burst cannon is good, but there are better options. Taking a twin-linked flamer on them is a measly 6 points! also, If you do this, there is no need to take a multi-tracker, or a targeting array, allowing you to possibly splurge out and get some shield drones, instead of gun drones. Speaking of some of the upgrades, a combo I have seen, it is pricey pointswise, but is very much worth it, is the multi-tracker, targeting array, and then the missile pod/plasma rifle. Very pricey, but if you have the points, it's pretty good. Other than those two, Target Lock is cheap, and can be effective, you should usually include some drones to take wounds, Blacksun Filter isn't really worth it. A Bonding Knife isn't bad, and it's only 5 points, so why not? Anyway, here are the two battlesuit combos that I think are optimal. These are both assuming that you took a bodyguard of Crisis for your commander, and that they are armed with the plasma rifle/missile pod combo:

Crisis Squad 1:

3 Crisis Battlesuits, all with twin-linked flamers, drone controller, 2 gun drones - 153 points

This unit will be absolutely deadly against light infantry, such as Guardsmen, Orks, and Tyranids, and will even put a dent in Marines. It has a grand total of 12 wounds, and it isn't super expensive, either! the best way to use this, is to leave an obvious hole in your lines, and then when the enemy sends a horde to exploit it, you Deep Strike this beast right in front of it, and then flame their brains out. Once this is done, you usually want to jump behind cover.

Crisis Squad 2:

3 Crisis Battlesuits, all with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, targeting array, hard-wired multi-tracker, hard wired drone controller, 1 gun drone - 246 points

This unit, though expensive, will absolutely devastate both infantry and tanks with too many accurate, high-strength shots. best use for this is to Deep Strike them next to a monstrous creature, take out the beastie in question, and then wade further into the fight. The other great thing about these units is that neither of them is terrible in combat, with strength 5 and 2 attacks, as well as a healthy 3+ armor save. Taking both of these in the same army, combined with a Commander with his bodyguard, some Fire Warriors in Devilfish, a couple of Broadsides, and a Sky Ray, and you have a problem on your hands.